Review: Shattered Hopes by Ulff Lehmann

Shattered Hopes (Light in the Dark Book 2)  by Ulff Lehmann

Crossroad Press, 2018

444 pages. Ebook.

About Shattered Hopes:

"Drangar Ralgon survived death… twice! 

He has no idea how, nor is he any closer to unearthing why his beloved had to die. 

Drowning in questions, Drangar receives aid from the unlikeliest of sources. The Chosen Kildanor, immortal warrior of a shunned god, has taken a liking to the mercenary. With his path to answers blocked by a besieging army, Drangar must do his part in defeating the enemy. 

Reluctantly, Drangar once more prepares for war. 

*** 

Shattered Hopes is a character-driven, intriguing and multi-layered epic fantasy novel, which you don’t want to miss. - Starlitbook Asylum."

I read Shattered Dreams, the first book in this series, a few months back and was enamored with the strong world-building, complex characters, and well-built storyline. This sequel, I am happy to say, definitely lived up to the strong start!

The sequel picks up almost immediately after the events of the first book, something that I always appreciate because we're able to jump right back into things with no missing time. For the sake of not going into spoilers, I don't plan to go in depth about plot details in this review, but will focus more on the characters, writing, pacing, etc. so that I don't give anything important away.

Even though I read the first book only maybe two months before reading the second, I still felt as though I needed a slight refresher on the some of the world, characters, events, etc. that were introduced and explained in the first book. There is, quite simply, a lot of detail in this world, which I do appreciate overall because it adds some extra authenticity and depth to the world, as well as captures Lehmann's dedication to his work, but it does require some effort.

I think one of my favorite things about this book is how Lehmann portrays all of the characters. They are all unique and complex and truly feel as though they have been brought to life. What I really like is that even the 'villain' type of characters are portrayed in a way that shows there is more to them than just the typical antagonist to our main cast. Sure, they may not be doing the best things all the time (who is, really?), but they aren't just evil for the sake of being evil and that is a villain I can get behind. Drangar and Ealisaid remain the two most prominent characters and also the two most interesting ones. Even though we got to know them quite a bit in the first book, I really felt that they were developed even more in this one and I got to know them even better. Their personalities are both endlessly enjoyable and kept me wanting to know more about them. In addition to Drangar and Ealisaid are other POVs as well, which provides even more to explore in the story.

I mentioned the religion that Lehman created in the first book, and I want to briefly touch on that again because it adds so much intrigue to these books. It's very immersive and plays a large role in the plot of this overarching story, something that it does extremely well. It also adds extra depth to the motivations and lives of the characters as we get to see how it affects both our main protagonists and those on a larger scale.

The pacing in Shattered Hopes is very much similar to that of Shattered Dreams, which shows some great consistency. It's still definitely a slower pace, but very steady and easily grabs the reader's attention. As I mentioned in my review for the first book, the reader really needs to be actively paying attention to the story in this book, as there is lot to both follow and to discern and understand for yourself. 

Overall, I've given Shattered Hopes four stars! This was a solid continuation of a great start to a fantasy series. I am most impressed by Lehmann's continued world-building and ability to juggle so many different subjects and ideas in one cohesive book. Definitely give this series a shot if you enjoy some multi-perspective epic fantasy.

Buy the book: Amazon

*I received a copy of Shattered Hopes courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating of the novel.*

Review: The Shadow of What was Lost by James Islington

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington

Orbit, 2017. 

Paperback. 736 pages. 

About The Shadow of What Was Lost:

"As destiny calls, a journey begins. 

It has been twenty years since the god-like Augurs were overthrown and killed. Now, those who once served them - the Gifted - are spared only because they have accepted the rebellion's Four Tenets, vastly limiting their powers. 

As a Gifted, Davian suffers the consequences of a war lost before he was even born. He and others like him are despised. But when Davian discovers he wields the forbidden power of the Augurs, he sets into motion a chain of events that will change everything. 

To the west, a young man whose fate is intertwined with Davian's wakes up in the forest, covered in blood and with no memory of who he is... 

And in the far north, an ancient enemy long thought defeated begins to stir."

The Shadow of What Was Lost had been sitting on my shelf for about before I finally plucked up the courage to read it. I'd been wanting to check it out for quite some time, but it's quite a chunker and it was a bit intimidating to start yet another series (I don't even know how many series I've started over the years), especially with a book of that size. But every time I heard something about it (which wasn't all that often, this one is a bit underrated), it was constantly raves. I finally decided to pick it up and now I'm having those 'why didn't I pick this up sooner?' thoughts. With all that being said, let's dive into the review!

The story starts off in a school setting, but it doesn't stay there for long and instead picks up rather quickly into an entirely unexpected storyline. I was fascinated by this story and how it evolved throughout the book. I'd also like to address the reviews that say this is a "rip-off Wheel of Time series," because although I can understand where they get that, it's clearly not. You can absolutely see inspiration between this book and other popular fantasy books, but Islington makes this entirely his own and incorporates his own unique storyline and world that sets it apart from others. There were so many twists and turns that left me feeling that this was a truly unpredictable novel, something that I really appreciated.

The world-building is really strong in this book. It felt expansive, but also manageable and not overly complex. I could follow along fairly easily with places and events that were described, something that certainly cannot be said for all fantasy books. One of my favorite locations in this book was a city called Deilannis that is semi-briefly visited, and it is locations like that that really added to my excitement and overall engagement in this book. In addition, the magic system was particularly interesting and I genuinely enjoyed learning how it worked. People in this world are separated into three main groups: the Gifted, the Augurs, and those with no magic. Augurs are the rarest and are considered to be essentially eradicated after they became unreliable and seen as a danger to the population. As a result of this, the Gifted were also 'bound' to the Four Tenets, which basically means that, at the core, they are unable to use their powers on any non-Gifted people--not even for self-defense--and are closely watched by the Administration. They are also, for the most part, completely hated and feared by all non-Gifted people. I thought that this setup made for an interesting story as it examined the various power constructs among these groups. For instance, the Gifted are technically more physically powerful, but the non-Gifted have them bound and unable to defend themselves, so therefore they are actually weaker. It seems like a basic setup, but it provided for a strong story and I liked seeing the differences between Augurs and the Gifted become more apparent.

I also loved our three main protagonists. I have seen a few complaints that the characters weren't developed well, but again I have to disagree. I thought all three of our main protagonists, Wirr, Davian, and Asha, were really well-written characters. Davian is what I would consider out main protagonist, though the POV shifts between him, Asha, Wirr, a man we meet named Caeden, and a few others along the way. I was never confused about whose POV we were in or what was going on, so I give props to Islington for using multiple POVs so successfully. It's not overdone and it's easy to follow along with what is going on--something I always appreciate in a complex fantasy series.

Davian appears to be your average young man, not overly outgoing, but also not exceptionally shy. His character begins to develop as the story moves along and we are able to learn more about him. His rather 'generic' initial impression changes immensely and he becomes a much more interesting character to follow as the story progresses. Wirr is a physically stronger person than Davian and has a more charismatic nature allows him to more easily journey in secrecy. He's an exceptionally loyal and trustworthy person and I loved watching his journey throughout the story as well. The final character I want to mention is Asha, who I would say is one of the more intriguing characters of the lot. Her journey through this story was so interesting and I love her relationship dynamics with various characters, as well as her own difficult journey that allowed her to grow and develop into a strong, fascinating character.

My favorite aspect of this book is simply how 'classic epic fantasy' it felt. Of course, I don't mean it's another Lord of the Rings or anything, but there was something very old school about the storytelling, the narrative, and the events of the story. It's very unique and highly engaging, and it also has an overwhelming epic quality that made me feel so at home and I desperately wanted to read it at any moment when I set it down. I wanted to race through this story, but I let myself read at a leisurely pace because I was enjoying it so much.

Overall, I've given The Shadow of What Was Lost five stars! If you like epic fantasy with compelling protagonists, strong magic systems, and and exciting plot, then you will love this one.

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

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Review: Kings of Paradise by Richard Nell

Kings of Paradise by Richard Nell

Self-Published, 2018

Ebook. 601 pages.

I am making room on my (metaphorical) big league fantasy author shelf and clearing out a space for Richard Nell, because Kings of Paradise was absolutely incredible. This book was everything I didn't know I wanted, and I am so incredibly impressed by it and what Nell has managed to accomplish in such a unique and unexpected way.

This book is a huge, complex story that makes it extremely hard for me succinctly review without writing a small essay, but I am going to try my best to do so. In brief: I loved this book, and since I don't a better way to begin this review, we're just diving in.

Kings of Paradise centers around three main characters whose perspectives are alternated throughout the book. There are many other characters in this book--seriously, I made a list of people I thought were important and it is long--so I'm just focusing on our main ones: Ruka, Kale, and Dala. Up first is Ruka, a coldhearted, or rather, heartless, beast of a boy who actually starts out as a fairly normal boy, but due to circumstances in his life slowly turns into a ruthless man. I loved reading his descent into the man he is at the end of the story; it was fascinating and horrible, but also oddly understandable. The way Nell wrote about Ruka's feelings and revelations in the beginning of the book were incredible, and I actually found myself highlighting huge passages that I knew I wanted to add to my long list of saved book quotes. Ruka's journey in this book takes a lot of turns and I found myself engaged in every one. He was truly an unpredictable character and I really couldn't guess at any point what he would do next. If you like really morally questionable characters, Ruka is your man.

The next character we meet is Kale, the youngest son of the King of Sri Kon. Although I loved all of the characters, Kale was probably the most entertaining and engaging characters. Kale is sort of 'expendable' in the sense that his other brothers hold higher statuses and Kale is just sort of... there. His father, of course, still has plans for him, but he's not the immediate heir or anything and therefore not as useful. He's also a little rebellious, but he's rebellious in a somewhat responsible and clever manner (you'll figure out what I mean if when you read the book). Kale, to me, acted as a major foil to Ruka's character. Where Ruka sort of loses himself and becomes a madder and more horrible person, Kale grows immensely throughout this book and eventually becomes much more mature, stronger, responsible, and, well, persuasive. He learns his strength and his role in the world in the same vein as Ruka, but the two are at opposite ends of the personality spectrum. Kale's transformation is subtle, but impossible to look away from.

The third character I'd like to mention in some detail is Dala, a character that I wasn't sure how I felt about at first, but slowly grew on me and I loved by the end. I most admire Dala's strength and clear frame of mind. This is a girl who knows what she wants and knows--or will figure out--what she  needs to get it. She is not without her faults, and her methods of obtaining what she wants are not generally honorable (another morally questionable character), but that only makes her more compelling. A common trait that ran amongst all three of these characters seemed to be their cleverness, which is a trait that I always like explored among protagonists, especially when the cleverness is used in unique ways. The rest of the characters in this book are just as well-drawn and interesting as the three main protagonists, and I think that is one area where Nell really excelled in this his writing; the chemistry and varying personalities were all done so well.

The plot in Kings of Paradise is pretty wide-ranging and I'm not sure I can nicely sum it up, but suffice to say it's incredibly well-written and will absolutely make it hard for you to even put this book down. This is the sort of plot that really takes its time to fully unfold and is honestly fairly slow-paced when looked back on as a whole, but it doesn't feel slow. There is constantly something happening in this book so I was never bored, but Nell still really took his time in slowly building up his world and characters. That, I think is the best aspect of this book: Nell writes in a way that lets the reader see every aspect of his characters and watch as they develop throughout the book, much in the same way the world itself is slowly explained and we understand how everything works. The three different perspectives seemed so incredibly separate at first that I was honestly unsure how they would ever fit together, and then, somehow, they just did. Some seamless force (Richard Nell) came in and slowly started picking up every loose thread and tying it quietly to another loose thread and suddenly everything fell into place.

Overall, I was floored by Kings of Paradise. The character were fascinating, the plot was strong, the world was huge and detailed, and I just think everyone should read this book. Five stars! I'm no seer, but I see great things in both Richard Nell's and Kings of Paradise's futures.

*I received a copy of Kings of Paradise courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review. This book was part of TBRindr. This has no effect on my rating of the novel.*

Buy the book: Amazon 

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The Hidden Face by S.C. Flynn

The Hidden Face by S.C. Flynn. The Hive, 2017. Ebook. 350 pages. 

Is it weird to say that I feel... winded after reading The Hidden Face? The reason I say that is because this book is an extremely adventurous, fast-paced story that I really had a fun time reading. And really, if you like fantasy that moves at a quick pace and throws plenty of action at you on almost every page, then you should really give this one a go.

What grabbed my attention about this book was this little excerpt from the synopsis: "Once every few hundred years the sun god, the Akhen, takes on human form and descends to earth. Each Unmasking of the Face of the Akhen ends one era and begins another; the last one created the Faustian Empire." I am so intrigued by that premise--gods coming to earth to stop and start eras? Yes, please!--so I was more than happy to pick this book up and find out just what this Unmasking of the Face was all about. (If you want a full synopsis of this book, you can find one here.)

Flynn created a really interesting mythology for this world that I found myself actively engaged with and wanting to find out more about it. There is a lot of exposition regarding the mythology and how the characters are affected by it, but I didn't mind it too much because it was exposition that was actually engaging and did provide important information to the story. Included in the mythology are prophecies that do play a pretty large in the story. Prophecy being used as a plot point is a huge hit or miss for me these days, but I think Flynn did a good job of making it something that isn't overly cliche'd or awkward, but instead flows well with the narrative and plotline of the overall story.

The two main characters, Dayraven and Sunniva, each bring plenty of motivation and intrigue to the story, and I appreciated getting to know each of them and their personality. Sunniva is your rather badass warrior woman who carries an air of confidence around her that I particularly enjoyed. Dayraven is a recently returned 'hostage' from an enemy city who comes across as somewhat lost in the beginning of the book, which is understandable considering he had been cut off from his hometown for the past fifteen years. As the story progresses, though, his confidence grows and more of his personality starts to emerge, leading to him becoming a rather endearing character. There are plenty of other characters involved (this is epic fantasy, of course), but the only other one I want to mention in this review is The Twister, who is one of the 'semi-mad' figures that steals whatever scene they are in. I really enjoyed reading his character and found myself rather partial to any scenes with him.

The Hidden Face is riddled with puzzles and secret codes that must be solved by the characters, but is written in a way that actively engages the reader to solve at the same time. At times, I felt as if I was both reading and playing a game at the same time, which was really unique and also entertaining. I can see how people might dislike the in-depth puzzle solving, but at the same I thought it added a certain sort of authenticity and detail that improved the writing and showed the Flynn knows exactly what he is doing. There are too many books where characters just magically solve things without really allowing the reader to understand how they did it, so I really appreciated that aspect of this book.

There were a few times when the dialogue and word choice in the narrative felt a bit awkward, which briefly jolted me out of the story. I'm not one that usually get too hung up on issues like this as long as they aren't overtaking my ability to enjoy the book, and fortunately this wasn't that bad. I also had a few issues with the worldbuilding, mainly that I wanted more of it. I feel like the world is explained fairly well, but I just couldn't quite get a good understanding of the entire world and how things worked.

Overall, I've given The Hidden Face four stars and would certainly recommend it as a solid start to a new series!

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

(*only $2.99 Kindle as of my writing this review!)

*I received a copy of The Hidden Face courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating of the book.*

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A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne

*A Plague of Giants will be released Tuesday, October 17th!*

A Plague of Giants (Seven Kennings, #1) by Kevin Hearne. Del Rey, 2017. Hardcover. 640 pages.

I've been seeing some pretty mixed review for A Plague of Giants so far, but I'm happy to say that I loved this book. 

The premise is that of a frame story, in which there is an outer story with one main character narrating the present, and the other half of the story is told by a bard who tells his tale through the usage of a variety of different characters. The bard tells parts of his story each day by taking on the form of different characters and having them tell their story through him. I love this idea, largely because I've always been intrigued by bards and the various methods of storytelling, so I thought that this was a fantastic way to tell an epic fantasy tale.

I can't say that the story and plot itself is anything overly unheard of, but it's the details and the characters themselves that make this story stand out so much. A Plague of Giants is complex, intricate, and beautifully written. I really loved the world created in this book, even if I don't fully understand it. There is a rich array of cultures and diverse characters, which I found fascinating and also rather refreshing. 

As is the case in most books with multiple POVs, I found myself a bit uninterested in one or two them (Nel, Meara), which did make it a bit of a drag to get through. However, the rest of the narrators and story bits were deeply compelling and more than made up for the boring ones that were few and far between. I was particularly enraptured by the main character Dervan's story, Abhi's, and Gondel's. The sheer detail of each perspective gave each character such a distinct personality that I really appreciated. 

 I found myself slightly confused about a few things here and there, but for me personally that wasn't a major hindrance because, if we're being honest, it's not uncommon for me to get a bit lost or confused in epic fantasy. There's just too much going on for me to necessarily have a full grasp on everything unless I've read the book multiple times or had a chance to discuss it more at length. I also would have loved to see a map of this world. 

This is the first book I've by Hearne, so I don't know if his books are normally as witty as this particular book was, but I loved it. I chuckled at many points throughout this book, but that doesn't mean that it didn't have its more depressing or dark moments as well. This book doesn't hold back, but it also isn't unnecessarily violent or gory. It uses violence and intensity at appropriate moments and for appropriate lengths. There's no censoring or attempt to make things nicer--there are certainly some gory moments--but it doesn't overdo it or normalize it too much, which was a nice reprieve from all the grimdark I've been inhaling lately. 

Overall, I've given A Plague of Giants four-and-a-half stars! If you are a fan of epic fantasy or really wonderfully told stories with many layers, go pick this one up!

*I received an ARC of A Plague of Giants in exchange for an honest review. This had no effect on my rating of the book.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

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The Dragon's Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf

The Dragon's Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf. Titan Books, 2017. Hardcover. 320 pages.

(can we talk about how fantastic this cover is? I'm in love!)

This review is a long time coming, and I actually meant to get it out weeks earlier, but alas, things happen. The good news is that it is finally here and I am thrilled to share my thoughts with all of you.

The Dragon's Legacy is a beast of a new addition to the world of epic fantasy and I was completely blown away by Deborah's Wolf's writing. I'm always looking for some refreshing new fantasy series to discover, and this one did not let me down.

The most remarkable aspect of this book is the worldbuilding. Wolf has created an immensely detailed, complex world that is fascinating to explore and learn about. I'll be honest here and admit that I was fairly confused in the beginning of this book and I was worried that I wouldn't want to continue on, but at some point I found myself completely captivated by everything about this book. It takes some time to get into, but once you start to really 'get' what's going on, it becomes hard to put down.

There is a fairly large cast of characters with somewhat confusing names, but I promise it's doable and completely worth it to follow them all (plus there is a cast list of the most important characters in the beginning of the book, which I found incredibly helpful!). The main character that we follow is Sulema, a young woman who is in the midst of training to be Ja'Akari warrior. However, she is interrupted by a strange visitor during her training who changes everything by telling her just whose daughter she really is, and thus the story really begins. I really enjoyed reading the beginning of Sulema's journey in this fantasy series. I found her difficult to connect with at first and I didn't really get a completely sense of who she was in the first half of the book, but by the end I really felt like I had a much better sense of who she was and what her personality was like. Sulema ended up being an extremely developed character that has a mix of courage, naivety, stubbornness that lent itself well to the story.

Another character we follow is Jian, a Daeborn boy, meaning he was born by a Sindanese and Dae match at a specific time of the year. As a result, he is sent off to a rather intense training 'camp' to become a warrior known as the Daechen. Jian did not have nearly the same amount of chapters as Sulema, but I still really enjoyed the snippets of his journey when we did. I would have liked to read more chapters of Jian, but at the same I am very satisfied with the amount of time his story received.

One of the my favorite elements of this book were the creatures known as the vash'ai, which are essentially large, extremely intelligent - and snarky - cats with equally large tusks. They're not the most cuddle-friendly, but they sure are fantastic. Vash'ai choose to bond themselves to chosen Zeerani warriors, though one of the problems in this book is that less vash'ai are choosing to do so, and less and less Zeerani are being born each year. I loved the bond between certain characters and their vash'ai, and I truly enjoyed the witty exchanges that are telepathically communicated between them.

I found Wolf to have a beautiful writing style with a great blend of poetry, philosophy, and distinctive writing. I thought there was a perfect balance of action, politics, social and cultural discussion, and emotion throughout the entire story. (Oh! And did I mention that it is the women of the Zeerani that are trained to fight, while the men must remain at home because they are important to the reproductive process? I thought that aspect was pretty great and a very, very welcome new outlook to this genre.)

Overall, I have given The Dragon's Legacy four-and-a-half stars! I definitely would recommend this to fans of high/epic fantasy and don't mind some more detailed and complex worldbuilding.

*I received a physical ARC of The Dragon's Legacy courtesy of Deborah A. Wolf, though this in now way affects my review.*

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The Empire's Ghost by Isabelle Steiger

*The Empire's Ghost is now available!*

The Empire's Ghost by Isabelle Steiger. Thomas Dunne Books, 2017. Hardcover. 432 pages.

Although The Empire's Ghost is only a little over 400 pages, it took me an exceptionally long time to read this book. I think reading this book slowly really enhanced my enjoyment of it, especially because now I find it disappointing not to have this book as my go-to on my Kindle to read for when I'm at university or on the go - it become such a companion to me. But I digress, let's move on to the review!

The Empire's Ghost is the first book in a new fantasy series in which the great empire Elesthene rose and at the same time ended the use of magic. (If you want a more thorough summary, I definitely recommend you check out the Goodreads summary, as it will provide much  more information.) Honestly, the more  I think about this book, the more I love it, and I definitely plan to purchase a copy of this book for myself.

The most prominent thing about this book, in my opinion, is that there is a lot of dialogue. That might sound odd, but it really is true. Fortunately, I found Steiger's dialogue to be extremely entertaining and realistic, and I really enjoyed it. I have never been a huge fan of extensive action scenes in the first place, so the amount of action  that was interspersed throughout this book was perfectly balanced. Plus, the actions scenes were wonderfully written, and every sword battle or confrontation was written with precise detail and an engaging narrative.

There is a lot of politics, strategy, and social play at work here, and I loved every second of it. The political interactions and discussions included so many subtle snide remarks and wisdom that I could not help but hang on to every word.

The characters in The Empire's Ghost are amazing. There is a wide variety of characters, which extremely impressed when I discover how distinct each character's voice was. Along with the many characters, there are also many alternating third person points of view throughout this book, and I - surprisingly - didn't really mind. Each character had such an interesting storyline and fascinating personality that I sincerely enjoyed each one.  I'm tempted to go into more depth about some of the characters, but trust me when I say that if I did that, this review would be far too long, so I will not do that for this review for the sake of brevity. (You're welcome.)

The worldbuilding in this book is subtle in how it is told, but strong in the way in which it draws the reader in. There is no info-dumping (yes!), and there really isn't much of an exposition either. It took a little while to get into the world Steiger has created in this book simply due to being thrown right into the world, but her charismatic characters really help to lead the way kept me interested.

The best part of this book, in my opinion, is the sheer depth of history of the world and the character backgrounds that are presented. The attention to detail made this book so real and I could not draw myself away from it. Steiger has also proven herself to be incredibly deft at carefully writing in twists and elements that impressed me immensely.

I can already imagine that there are going to be two main camps for this book: those who love it because they enjoy slow character-building and a plot that is mainly focused on settings things up, and those that hate it because it is too slow-paced. I'm in the former category and I cannot recommend this one enough. Overall, I am giving The Empire's Ghost five stars!

*I received an ARC of The Empire Ghost courtesy of NetGalley and Thomas Dunne Books in exchange for an honest review.*

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First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Dragon's Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

The Dragon's Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf

Chapter 1

"Akari Sun Dragon had long since flown down beyond the horizon in search of his lost love, and the night unfurled velvet soft. A hundred girls and half again as many women had left Shahad at daybreak and traveled tot he Madraj, the meeting-places of all the prides.

Sulema stood tall among her yearmates, surrounded by Ja'Akari, warriors stern-faced and proud. When next the sun rose, she would be one of them. It was the fist day of spring in her seventeenth year, and the last day of her childhood."

I was finally able to start on this one a few days ago and I'm really enjoying it! It took me a little while to get into this one, simply because new epic fantasy books always take a bit of adjusting, but now I'm going strong

What do you think? Would you keep reading this? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan - A Fantasy Classic!

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time #1)

Chapter 1

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

Born below the ever cloud-capped peaks that gave the mountains their name, the wind blew east, out across the Sand Hills, once the shore of a great ocean, before the Breaking of the World. Down it flailed into the Two Rivers, into the tangled forest called the Westwood, and beat at two men walking with a cart and horse down the rock-strewn track called the Quarry Road. For all that spring should have come a good month since, the wind carried an icy chill as if it would rather bear snow."

So, The Eye of the World is hardly a new book, but I've had it on my TBR for years now, and I am finally going to dive in. I have heard countless incredible things about the The Wheel of Time series, and so far I am really enjoying this book!

What do you think? Would you keep reading either one of these? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. Tor Fantasy, 2003. Paperback. 1015 pages.

I was a bit skeptical of Kushiel's Dart, largely due to the many reviews proclaiming it had too much BDSM and negatively portrayed the main female character (unfortunately, the cover didn't exactly help convince me otherwise). But I also saw reviews lauding it for its highly developed world building elements, the fantasy itself, and the strong characters created, so I decided to give it a go. Not to mention the fact that it is considered a classic and highly regarded fantasy novel - It can't be considered that for no reason, right?

Well, I loved it. This book is a masterpiece. Kushiel's Dart is slow-paced, but it will keep you hooked. I struggled through the first almost-hundred pages and wasn't sure if I was going to continue when suddenly I was just sucked in and I knew that I would be finishing. I ended up reading at least 100+ pages of this book a day and put most of my other books that I was currently reading on hold while I finished this one. Carey's prose is absolutely gorgeous and rather Tolkien-esque due to the in-depth, expansive descriptions and detailed fantasy world.

This is a dense, high fantasy novel that is completely deserving of being considered one of the classics of high fantasy. The world Carey created is immensely detailed and precise. In fact, there are such intricate political backgrounds and dealings that it is actually somewhat hard to follow - and it doesn't help that they are all rather complex French-inspired names, a language that I do not know well. Because of this, I thought I would be doomed since I am extremely bad at remembering all those minute political alliances and foreign names, but I found that it was not completely necessary to understand every single political reference mentioned. Only the main characters and players were necessary to follow, so it ended up working out extremely well. Kushiel's Dart really has it all: strong political intrigue, complex world building, strong religion and culture, and well-rounded, deeply three-dimensional dynamic character development that was truly exciting to follow. I really found myself connecting with many of the characters, and that is what really made this book come alive.

I felt that Phedre's journey from a young girl of the Night Court to the mature, confident Phedre at the end of the book was amazingly well done. She started out as a fairly confident girl, but she lacked a voice. She is quiet, observant, obedient, but she slowly develops into an even more confident woman who is also now independent, strong, and willing to speak her mind. When I first started this book, I felt that Phedre didn't have much of a personality, so I was worried that I would develop a strong interest for this book; fortunately, throughout the story she truly develops as a character, finding her own well-developed personality and even a great sense of  humor along the way.

Now, to the more controversial aspect of Kushiel's Dart: yes, there is a fair bit of graphic BDSM-type sex that may make you uncomfortable if you are not a fan of that, but it was worked in beautifully. It wasn't campy or cheap sex, it was sex that fit and made the storyline. In fact, I found the entire way in which sex and courtesans were trained and used in this world to be extremely positive and, well, healthy. We learn that each student has a safe word that is clearly explained to any potential client (it's included in the paperwork, actually), and everything seems to be done in a very safe manner.

Regarding Phedre in particular: Phedre was struck with Kushiel's Dart at birth, causing her to be one of the few that experiences pain and pleasure as the same feeling, which is where the more violent sexual nature comes in. But to me, this is who Phedre is and what she was born to do - this is huge part of the entire storyline. It's not just some mindless smut added in. The first few sex scenes described are more detailed, but after a while they became much tamer and Carey tended to starting 'fading out' with no major details mentioned. After reading this book, I actually feel slightly frustrated with those who saw this BDSM as something vulgar and unnecessary, as I really didn't see it that way it's an integral part of this society and this storyline. But, of course, everyone's opinions are different and I am always respectful of differing opinions - especially over such an intense book as this one.

Overall, Kushiel's Dart is getting the big five-stars from me for its gorgeous prose and fantastical elements. This is a book that I would highly recommend to anyone that enjoys a strong fantasy novel with equally strong female characters and plot.

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Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman
Kings or Pawns by JJ Sherwood (review to come)
And I Darken by Kiersten White